NC lawmakers plan to vote Thursday on ‘bathroom bill’

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers could repeal House Bill 2 on Thursday under a deal struck Wednesday night by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders.

Senate leader Phil Berger announced the deal shortly after 10:30 p.m. The announcement capped a day of intensified negotiations and sometimes contentious meetings of lawmakers from both parties.

Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore took no questions. Details of the deal were to be released later Wednesday.

They said the Senate will vote first, at 9:15 a.m. Thursday. The House will then vote.

The movement on HB2 comes ahead of a deadline Thursday from the NCAA to make changes to the controversial LGBT law or lose the ability to host sports championships through 2022.

Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue said Wednesday afternoon that he, Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican leaders had been negotiating “over the past 48 hours in a joint effort to find common ground and repeal House Bill 2.”

“We have been dealing with varying philosophical differences on a wide range of points related to House Bill 2 itself and various compromise proposals,” Blue in a news release. “This is too important and we can’t throw in the towel on this.”

Leaked information appeared to reveal a compromise that would repeal HB2, prevent cities from regulating bathrooms and locker rooms while preventing local governments from adopting anti-discrimination ordinances for three years.

Sources said House Republicans narrowly approved the compromise in a closed-door caucus, but in numbers that would require Democratic votes on the floor.